Emergency and storm damage

What it is

Storm damage and emergency work covers everything that happens when a tree has failed or is about to. A limb hung up over a garden after a gale. A whole tree leaning on a fence, a shed or a conservatory. A split leader hanging by a strip of bark. A root plate that’s lifted and the tree is moving in the wind.

This is the job where speed matters. It’s also the job where bad decisions do the most damage. A tree that looks stable can drop the rest of itself the moment someone pulls on it from the wrong angle. Our first call is always: don’t go under anything hung up, don’t cut anything that’s loaded, let us get eyes on it.

When to call

• A tree or major limb has come down and is on a building, a fence, a car, a driveway or a path you use.
• A tree is leaning, moving in the wind, or showing fresh cracks at the base.
• A limb is hung up in another tree or snagged on a fence and could drop.
• A storm has gone through and a large branch has torn out, leaving a tear wound on the main stem.
• You’re not sure whether it’s safe and want someone qualified to look.

How we handle it

• Call and WhatsApp photos. Call the mobile, then send photos on WhatsApp from a safe distance. Include one wide shot showing the whole tree, one close-up of the damage, and the road or access visible if you can. Photos let us triage and bring the right kit first time.
• Next working day, target. On a genuine emergency within our patch, we aim to be on site the next working day. “Working day” because we don’t pretend to run round the clock; what we promise is what we actually deliver.
• Make safe first, tidy second. First visit is usually stabilising: getting the hung-up limb down, propping a leaning tree, roping a split leader. A full clear-up and any further work comes on a second visit if needed.
• Insurance paperwork. If you’re claiming on the house insurance, we can provide photos, a written report on the failure and a quote the insurer can use. We’ve done enough of these that the forms are routine.

What it costs

Emergency work is quoted on arrival, because we can’t price what we haven’t seen. No call-out charge for the visit itself. The stabilising work, any removals and the clear-up are quoted once we’ve seen the tree, written up and confirmed before we proceed. No surprise additions.

What we won’t do

We won’t rush a job we haven’t properly looked at, and we won’t go under a hung-up limb to save five minutes. We also won’t take payment for work we don’t need to do; if a branch is sitting safely and can wait a week for a proper visit, we’ll say so.

TPOs and conservation areas

Emergency work on a TPO’d or conservation-area tree can be done without prior consent if there’s an imminent risk to people or property, but we have to tell the council within five days and submit photographs of the damage. We handle the notification with Hastings Borough Council or Rother District Council on your behalf; you don’t need to chase paperwork in the middle of a crisis.